Saturday’s national semifinals will answer, after months and months of predictions, who will play for this year’s national championship. It’s a mix of the expected and unexpected, and any number of outcomes could still generate plenty of suspense in what little time is left this season.
2015 March Madness bracket: Three games remain in the 2015 season
The college basketball season has been building up to this point since October.
The first semifinal Saturday is between the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils and No. 7 Michigan State Spartans at 6:09 p.m. ET on TBS. It's not odd to see Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo coaching against each other in the Final Four, but not many predicted it based on the Spartans' year to-date. Michigan State was 23-11 on Selection Sunday. The Spartans tied for third in the Big Ten standings during the regular season and never won more than four games in a row at any point -- the total they've now won to get to the Final Four since an overtime loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament final.
Duke, meanwhile, was all but expected to make it this far. The Blue Devils were second only to Kentucky in the Associated Press preseason top 25, and Duke has made good on being so highly regarded. The Blue Devils are playing their best defense of the season, and Justise Winslow has perhaps been the best player in the tournament.
Afterward, the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats play the Wisconsin Badgers at 8:49 p.m. ET on TBS in a rematch of a national semifinal from last year's tournament. This semifinal features the best offense in college basketball (Wisconsin) and the best defense in college basketball (Kentucky). Both teams have achieved such heights because of their commitment to technical execution, and ability to react to what the other team gives them. How the two top units in hoops interact with each other should provide a fantastic Saturday night game.
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